20 dogs, cats rescued by humane society, deputies

Published 11:45 am Friday, January 6, 2012

Twenty dogs and cats that officials said had been neglected to near starvation were picked up from two homes Thursday, and owners might face criminal charges.

Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society workers and Warren County sheriff’s deputies collected animals from homes at 820 Possum Hollow Road and 610 Martin St.

Humane society director Georgia Lynn said the seizures were the third and fourth in five weeks. She said two horses were seized Dec. 12, and a starving Doberman Pinscher was taken Dec. 19.

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The action was carried out under a state law that allows authorities to seize animals after an investigation indicates they may have been cruelly treated or neglected. Lynn said misdemeanor criminal charges for confining an animal without food or water may also be pending in the dog seizures.

“We get complaints during the year,” she said. “We go out and take pictures of the animals, present them to justice court, and the judge issues the order to take the animals. We need to get the animals to a vet to determine whether the animal’s condition is caused by disease or neglect. The court order allows us to get the animal and take it to a vet for an examination.”

If abuse is found, she said, the veterinarian testifies as an expert witness at the criminal hearing in justice court.

Animal owners have five days to contest in justice court. If the seizures are not contested, the animals are turned over to the humane society.

If the seizures are contested, Lynn said, the animal owners have three days to post a bond of $300 to $500, and a hearing is set within 14 days. She said the horse seizure was contested in justice court and had been continued until Jan. 19.

“The bond goes for the care of the animals,” she said.

Lynn said the animals picked up Thursday were taken because of their physical conditions. The 17 dogs and kittens picked up on Possum Hollow and the three pit bulls on Martin Street were taken to Woodland Animal Hospital in Vicksburg for examinations and treatment.

Then, all but an emaciated Great Dane, were taken to the humane society shelter, on U.S. 61 South.

Lynn, humane society employee Drew Clempt and sheriff’s Investigator Mike Traxler picked up two emaciated Weimaraners, five 4-week-old puppies, and four small dogs, a pit bull and an American bulldog, and three kittens.

The residents of the Possum Hollow home, Tammy and Allen Rymer, were not home when officials arrived at about 11 a.m. Tammy Rymer arrived about 30 minutes later after she was called by the couple’s 16-year-old son. She declined to comment.

About 3/12 hours later, Lynn, Traxler and Clempt, accompanied by sheriff’s deputies and Vicksburg police, seized three pit bulls believed to be owned by Antonio and Derrick Thomas at the Martin Street home. The court order was served on Tammy Thomas, the Thomases’ cousin, who was listed on the order as the property owner.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said his office and the humane society received anonymous calls about the animals on Possum Hollow, a rural gravel road in northern Warren County between Mississippi 3 and Oak Ridge Road. Lynn added her office had received complaints about the animals for two weeks.

Pace said deputies took pictures of the dogs from the road, and presented them to county prosecuting attorney Ricky Johnson, who got the court order.

“The Great Dane was confined by a chain in the yard with no food or water,” Lynn said. “When we were walking to the van, we passed a child’s swimming pool of dirty water and I let him drink. He drank for 4 minutes.”

She said the Great Dane and the puppies were diagnosed with an intestinal parasite that can be fatal if not quickly treated.

The smaller dogs were confined to a pen at the rear of the property. She said the dogs had dry food, but no water. Two of them drank from a small bowl of water near the pen after they were placed on leashes and walked out of the pens.

She said the Humane Society also received anonymous calls about the pit bulls, which were emaciated and had minor injuries. The males, she said, also had heart and ring worms, and the female is pregnant. All of the dogs had fleas and ticks, she said.